Fear

Fear

Who are those who fear the Lord? He will show them the path they should choose.

Psalm 25:12

What are some of your fears as a mom? Through twenty years of motherhood, I’ve experienced plenty of my own. The first one I remember was, “How will I know what to do with this little person when I bring him home from the hospital?” Apparently, God helped me figure it out, because Chad grew up safely and presently teaches high school physics. Now it’s his turn to figure out what to do with a whole classroom.

While I was pregnant with my second child, I feared that I wouldn’t be able to love that child as much as I loved my firstborn. I smile now because as soon as I started taking care of Nate, my fear dissolved in the middle of my busyness. The third time around, I feared that I wouldn’t be able to squeeze in much one-on-one time with our youngest child. Now that the first two have graduated from college, my husband and I spend all kinds of one-on-one time with Jordan. He gets more time with us than the other two ever did.

Although my fears were probably common, they weren’t particularly helpful. But one fear is—the fear of the Lord. The Bible teaches that fearing the Lord doesn’t mean being scared of him or avoiding him. Instead, it’s seeing God for who he is and responding to him with reverent and affectionate obedience. Part of fearing him is presenting our fears to him—fears about our kids, schedules, husbands, health, jobs, and relationships. When we trust him with our fears, we discover that he is faithful to help us choose good paths. Fearing God helps us to put our other fears in proper perspective.

Father,

Thank you that we can trust you with our fears. Help us always to respond to you with the reverence and obedience you deserve—and may that give us the right view of our lives. Amen.